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Jaq Bessell is Associate Professor of Acting and Programme Leader for the BA Acting programme at the Guildford School of Acting (GSA), University of Surrey. She is an internationally active theatre director and academic whose work bridges professional theatre practice and scholarly research in performance.
Her research interests center on Shakespearean performance, actor training methodologies, physical theatre, and the cognitive dimensions of acting. She explores how embodied cognition influences memory and performance, particularly in the context of early modern verse. Her work integrates Stanislavski and Meisner techniques with textual analysis to bridge classical and contemporary performance traditions.
The recent articles reflect a strong trend in practice-as-research, focusing on Shakespearean adaptation, minimal-cast productions, bilingual performance, and interdisciplinary collaboration with choreographers and composers. Her publications often examine how performance can refresh literary-critical understandings of texts through physical experimentation and audience engagement.
Jaq Bessell has led funded research projects supported by Arts Council England and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation. She has organized academic symposia, such as the 2014 Uses of Poetry in Actor Training event, and has been involved in international collaborations, including at Shakespeare's Globe and in Montpellier. While no formal scientific awards are listed, her publications with Cambridge University Press and Arden Shakespeare indicate high scholarly recognition.
She has directed numerous productions across the UK and USA, including major Shakespeare plays at the Globe, Blackfriars Playhouse, and Guthrie Theater. Her Performance Research Group has been instrumental in developing experimental, research-driven theatre that challenges boundaries between scholarship and stagecraft.
